Mysteries
When writing dialogue, I often find it useful to try to imagine not only the sound of a character’s voice, but their speech mannerisms, down to every idiosyncratic detail and nuance.
These are not always set in stone, and tend to evolve. When it comes to the Lady, whenever I find myself wondering, imagining what she may sound like delivering a given line, I can’t help but think of “Mysteries” by Beth Gibbons. Inevitably, this song pops up in my mind whenever I try to “hear” the Lady, whether I want it to or not.
I always picture the “Blood Countess” in Diablo 2. “Are you ready for a BLOOD BATH?”
Hm. I was thinking of The Lady’s voice as deeper… but, yes, with that sense of being just over the edge of a whisper most of the time. She has nothing to prove; she doesn’t often need to speak loudly to be heard and make her point. Which may make her laughter all the more shocking when she lets herself go.
Or at least she has nothing to prove to most of us. Eleanor may turn out to be a different matter.
I just found this comic the other day. It’s interesting how The Lady was perceived as the villain at the start, and now she’s not. And how the sweet old lady, self-proclaimed Guardian Angel, is more deceptive and a snake-in-the-grass than any other character.
Seriously, after everything Eleanor has done, it would be a real shame if she didn’t get some sort of karmic retribution. Putting three dead murderers and would-be rapists into the body of their intended victim – so as to spy for Eleanor? And then later murder Rona’s SOUL and take over her body? Sadistic.
I’m thinking that if Eleanor was ever defeated, The Lady might think Oblivion too good for her. Perhaps she could be trapped into a mortal coil, like The Lady was. Of course, Eleanor would inevitably recover her former personality and resume activities during sleep, like The Lady does. And so their rivalry would continue…
Perhaps The Lady might realize at some point how much her association with Rona has benefited her? Before, she was totally reliant on her death touch and her other skills had atrophied. She would have been totally outclassed in a fight with Eleanor. Since meeting Rona, how often has The Lady had to do something that she hasn’t done in “an Age”?
Recent events have forced her to not only rekindle lost memories and skills, but have reawakened her dormant emotions and passion. When she fought the Troll and heard it boast of a hilarious trick over Henry’s decapitated head, she went into a flying rage and easily overpowered it.
Acting on pure emotion may lead to defeat in a fight. But fighting without emotion may not work either. You need skill, clear thinking AND passion.
I forgot to ask about The Lady’s tendency to bouts of giggling. (Hehehehehe!) The way it’s used, it is creepy and gives me a Halloween-like impression of being a somewhat insane or bloodthirsty witch. Which I’m sure is intentional and gives her foes plenty of goosebumps. But I’m curious if this hints at her personality or way of thinking.
I mean, does the giggling indicate joy on what’s happening (or anticipation for what’s about to happen)? Or does she genuinely find humor or cognitive dissonance in the behavior of others?
I’m reminded of this explanation of humor on everything2.com:
“…the mental state of “flipping” between two or more conceptualizations of the same thing. You find input humorous when it is unexpected and different from your current model of reality, and you are forced to add that new input to your list of expectations. The effect relies on your imagination in knowing what will probably happen, and your confusion when it doesn’t happen.”
I’m thinking that The Lady is an incredibly ancient being, having lived eons as a spirit/angel. Having honed her mind to be logical and free of most emotional distractions and desires, she probably half-expects other beings to think and behave similarly. As such, perhaps she does find the behavior of most other sentients to be incredibly irrational, confusing… even hilarious? So, in her mind, maybe this difference in the behavior she expects and what she witnesses does cause giggling?
“Seriously, after everything Eleanor has done, it would be a real shame if she didn’t get some sort of karmic retribution. Putting three dead murderers and would-be rapists into the body of their intended victim – so as to spy for Eleanor? And then later murder Rona’s SOUL and take over her body? Sadistic.”
You think that was bad?
Heh…
Ah, I read your interview for ‘Flashes in the Dark’ and that seems to explain and hint some things. In particular, I noticed that you planned to “play up the horror/suspense elements” and I guess what we’ve seen recently is just a small part of that.
And, I noticed that the story has included numerous examples of Stiffers who try to either contact the dead, use the occult, explore Subrealm, or prove the existence of other realities or dimensions.
The examples I find are of MC and Perse having considerable knowledge of and experience with Subrealm, some articles by Rona (only mentioned in passing), the group that Rona & Perse encounter in Subrealm (Zei, Lyria & Wulfgar) who were just exploring the Astral realm, the mention of the Xueba website for Astral Voyagers, the militia-like (gun-toting) paranormal hunters/haters group, and Jason & crew who dabbled in some dark occult stuff (so dark that MC the Vampire did not even want to associate with them) in order to gain power. Oh, and Fang who was a renowned channeler/medium.
There was also those Mulder & Skully agents, but we didn’t get to learn much about them (other than their claim that they know a lot of things that Rona does not). And they may have been zombies, anyway (as Jen, MC, and Perse found out one night).
What I’m trying to say is that I expected more traditional paranormal researchers and enthusiasts to show up. Where are the ghost hunters who investigate haunted houses and who use EVP, a Spirit Radio, magnetic sensors and such to contact the dead or prove they exist? Also, have you ever considered a mention of the use of Necromancy (the historical Spirit Divination stuff, NOT the fictionalized stuff)?
Further, after reading up on his history (again), I understand why Harry would be obsessed with contacting Bess. Harry Houdini spent much of his time and energy debunking spiritualists. Despite his search for real talent and constantly finding frauds, he still believed it was possible. He made an agreement with Bess, his wife, to communicate with her from the afterlife if possible. Bess tried for many years, but having failed, passed on this tradition of trying to contact him to others.
This must be “the project” that preoccupies Harry most of the time. He may forget that she’s dead. But I still think it would be neat if we get to see Harry experiment with a device to communicate with ANY Stiffers in Senserealm – to prove it’s possible, if nothing else. BTW: What happened to Bess, anyway? If she’s dead, shouldn’t she have met him in Subrealm – at least to say goodbye? Or did she find Oblivion or a new body trap?
“There was also those Mulder & Skully agents, but we didn’t get to learn much about them”
Hey, you had 9 seasons to do that.
“And they may have been zombies, anyway”
They most definitely were not. Although, having seen some of DD’s recent acting efforts… 😉
“Where are the ghost hunters who investigate haunted houses and who use EVP, a Spirit Radio, magnetic sensors and such to contact the dead or prove they exist?”
Well, you can certainly assume they’re out there. Who’s to say some of our Subrealm-dwelling characters haven’t already encountered them? But this is the Lady’s comic, and her existence isn’t exactly a household fact at the moment in Senserealm. Were that situation to change, however…
“Also, have you ever considered a mention of the use of Necromancy (the historical Spirit Divination stuff, NOT the fictionalized stuff)?”
Can’t say I have at this point in time, but… anything’s possible, if it serves the story.
“What happened to Bess, anyway?”
A wondrous mystery, is it not?
Oh! So it really was them! But then, the zombie-like faces threw me for a loop. Were they being possessed or controlled during that scene? An illusion, perhaps? Or were they dopplegangers?
Getting back to the topic of music, I was listening to “Sneaky Creatures” by Halou, and it reminded me of this scene from a couple years ago:
http://www.twilightlady.com/2008/05/01/the-realm-in-the-middle-pg-27-28/
And another song I’ve heard recently that’s incredibly creepy is “L’Odeur Animale” by Hooverphonic.
“Oh! So it really was them! But then, the zombie-like faces threw me for a loop. Were they being possessed or controlled during that scene?”
I don’t quite follow. What zombie-like faces? Their faces were hidden in shadow throughout. At least that was the intention…
Here’s the scene:
http://www.twilightlady.com/2009/01/23/symphony-in-the-key-of-oblivion-pg-23a/
Out of curiosity, what was it that gave you the impression of zombieness?
Oh, I see… I was mistaken. I was thinking of THIS scene:
http://www.twilightlady.com/2010/08/01/nemesis-of-decay-pg-23a/
Somehow, I mistook those two (nemesis-of-decay-pg-23a) as being the gov. agents (symphony-in-the-key-of-oblivion-pg-23a). Yes, I noticed that the faces of the agents are mostly obscured. And then in (nemesis-of-decay-pg-23a) the faces of the two are cloaked in shadow and are suddenly revealed. Plus, those zombies were wearing trenchcoats, which scream either agent, detective, spy, or anarchist… at least to me.
BTW: Coincidentally, both scenes happen have the SAME PAGE No. (23a).
Originally, I had assumed Eleanor had somehow created duplicates or “zombified” them. But now I realize they were Shaw & Lucas, resurrected from the dead by Dr. Dreyfuss (with a little help from Eleanor).